Utopos Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz 2021

A hallmark of the Utopos Vineyard on Roennfeldt Road is the pitch perfect acid/ tannin balance we can achieve in fully ripened fruit. This provides for delicious, highly approachable wines in their youth, whilst enabling them to develop over a 10-15 year period, and maybe more. The 2021 vintage was almost impossibly perfect, and has produced a series of red wines that will continue to showcase the amazing potential of this site for many years to come. Mild weather from bud burst in late September to harvest across March and April provided ideal conditions for steady, even canopy development, fruit set and ripening. The rain cycle through spring, summer and autumn was perfectly timed, providing regular refreshment to the vines, and maintaining a modest amount of sub soil moisture, resulting in average yields of approximately 1.5 tonne per acre. I love Cab Shiraz – a great blend that we can call our own. First release was sold almost entirely to the UK, they fell in love with the stuff When a single vineyard produces exceptional quality Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon, you’re compelled to create your own contribution to the distinctly Australian art of blending these two classic varieties. I’ve long loved Cabernet Shiraz blends, because they give you the best of both worlds – the focus and palate drive of Cabernet, with the lushness of Shiraz through the mid palate. This wine is a blend of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon and 30% Shiraz selected from the best blocks on the Utopos Vineyard. The fruit was harvested and fermented separately on skins for 7 days with twice daily pumpovers before being pressed to a blend of small and larger format oak, approximately 25% new French with the balance a mix of 2nd and 3rd use French oak barriques, for 18 months.